The Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t match up with the Los Angeles Clippers in their first-ever clash at the Intuit Dome. The Clippers walked out with a 116-102 win over the Lakers. It was a rough game, and the Lakers trailed for the majority of the time, making their performance uncompetitive.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick discussed the result after the game, claiming the Lakers are still in their growth process while the Clippers already have a far more coherent identity on both ends of the court.
“I think we are growing. We all know during the growth process you have some bumps, and that’s ok. Our group, we’re together and connected more times than not. We’ll continue to grow and build, but there was some good stuff tonight. We gotta keep trying to get better.”
“It’s one of those games you want your offense to help your defense, We didn’t make shots and turned the ball over. We did a good job in 11 possessions in the zone in the first half, they scored eight points. We did a good job of mixing it up.”
Redick heaped individual praise on the contributions of Ivica Zubac and James Harden, who were the biggest factors behind the Clippers’ dominant win.
“I consider them a great team, they have Hall of Famers and Zubac is a monster. He was the difference with his offensive rebounding, particularly in the second half. Against great teams, you make mistakes… Our guys competed, fought, stayed together. For us, this is a good process. We didn’t get the result we wanted, did some good things in the second half. That’s a real defense and they’re physical.”
“They’re a defensive team with an offensive engine and a bunch of guys who play their roles really well. Then you add Kawhi to that and the guy just doesn’t miss. They certainly have an identity. This was a James Harden game. He got inside the line, and hit some threes.”
The Clippers had four players making major contributions, with Norman Powell as the top scorer with 22 points (9-17 FG). Ivica Zubac had 21 points (9-16 FG), 19 rebounds, and three blocks while James Harden joined Zubac in the double-double club with 21 points (7-19 FG) and 12 assists. Kawhi Leonard had a surgically efficient 19 points (9-13 FG) in just 24 minutes of action.
The Lakers were led by LeBron James‘ 25 points (9-20 FG), five rebounds, 11 assists, and three steals. Rui Hachimura got 19 points (9-14 FG) and seven rebounds while star center Anthony Davis failed in the Zubac matchup with 16 points (5-14 FG), 10 rebounds, and three blocks. Austin Reaves had a quiet 14 points (4-6 FG) before picking up an injury late in the fourth quarter. Youngsters Dalton Knecht (3-4 FG) and Max Christie (4-7 FG) scored 10 points.
The Lakers being halfway into the season without a coherent identity is a problem, as the team either needs to drill routines into their current average core or reshape the core with trades. They’ve been trying to make moves but outside the acquisition of the misfiring Dorian Finney-Smith, the Lakers seem stuck.
Hopefully, they can address their biggest holes ASAP as the trade deadline is about three weeks away.
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